January 28, 2016

Community Votes Call It: $750,000 in Grants Go to Nonprofits Through Yelp Foundation Gives Local Contest

After two weeks of voting in 75 markets across the US, more than 160,000 votes were cast in the Yelp Foundation Gives Local grant contest, and we have a winner! A lot of them, actually. With three nonprofits in each market receiving grants, that’s 225 organizations that are receiving grants totaling $750,000. Read on for the full list.

It’s amazing to see how passionate community members are about the work these charities do. We saw a ton of talk on the #YFGivesLocal hashtag, with locals sharing who they voted for and nonprofits spreading the good news about their nomination. Each one in their own way supports the Yelp Foundation’s mission of addressing the needs of local communities including: access to information, education, local economic development, and freedom of expression. It’s pretty cool to think of that mission making progress in so many cities across the nation, and I can’t wait to see what each of these nonprofits is able to do with their grant winnings.

Thank you to everyone who took time to vote. It’s so important to the Yelp Foundation to involve the community and Yelp employees in driving decisions about how best to give back to the local communities we all love. That’s why I can’t wait to get started on the Foundation’s next grant program later this year! Go to YelpFoundation.org to stay up to date on all the ways you can get involved with the Yelp Foundation, and for more information on grant winning nonprofits. Learn more about the impact Yelp Foundation grants have in this video profiling two grant recipients from previous years.

2016 Yelp Foundation Gives Local Grant Winners

First place winners received grants of $5,000, second place received $3,000 grants, and third place received $2,000 grants.